


Mulled Wine in the Cellar

by Burgie



Series: Christmas Challenge 2015 [20]
Category: Star Stable
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 01:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7598566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne and Alex enjoy some of the Baroness' Christmas mulled wine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mulled Wine in the Cellar

Alex looked up at the top of the wine rack, a thoughtful expression on her face and her hands on her hips. She’d found the Baroness’ secret high-quality wine stash, now she just had to figure out how to get at it. Alex was tall, but apparently not tall enough to reach the top of the very high racks.

“I got the wine, you don’t have to worry about it,” said Anne, coming into the room behind Alex. Alex was glad that she hadn’t decided to climb the rack like she’d been considering- Anne’s sudden appearance would’ve startled her into falling off the wine rack and probably pulling the whole thing down with her.

“Are you sure you want that one?” asked Alex. “I was trying to get you some of the really good stuff. What is that, anyway?” She looked at the orange-striped green bottle.

“Mulled wine,” said Anne, as though it were obvious. “The Baroness always makes really nice mulled wine around Christmas time.”

“Okay,” said Alex. “Can you, uh, heat it up?”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” asked Anne with a laugh. “I’m not keeping my hands wrapped around it for nothing, you know.”

“Right,” said Alex with a little grin. “I should’ve expected that.”

“Yes, you should,” said Anne, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I brought glasses too. At least one of us is prepared.”

“I was looking for good wine for you,” said Alex. “I know how much you like it.”

“Oh, not as much as you do, if the stories are true,” said Anne with a roll of her eyes.

“True,” said Alex with a shrug. She wasn’t exactly proud of what she’d done while Anne had been missing, but there was no use getting mad or upset over it. Not when Anne teased her about it, anyway.

“Now, where shall we sit?” asked Anne. “It’s too cold to sit outside and I kind of like the idea of sitting with you and drinking mulled wine in the cellar.”

“On one of these barrels?” asked Alex. “Or the stairs. As long as nobody comes in.”

“The bottom of the stairs,” said Anne. “That way, we won’t end up stuck in here when we inevitably get tipsy.”

“Okay.” Alex smiled at her and led the way to the stairs, feeling the warmth of her girlfriend at her back.

Anne poured the wine out for the two of them, adding a little extra warmth to the glass before handing it over to her girlfriend. She saw the way Alex immediately wrapped her hands around the glass, and frowned slightly.

“You could have just told me that your hands were cold,” said Anne. “You know I’d never hesitate to warm them up for you.”

“I know,” said Alex with a sigh. “Sorry, I guess I just got so used to not complaining about the cold that now I can’t anymore. Even before you went missing, I just suffered in silence.”

“I know,” said Anne. “When I gave you a pair of mittens for your birthday that one year, you almost cried.”

“I did, later,” said Alex, looking down at the glass in her hands. “When nobody could see. I still have them.”

“Of course you do,” said Anne with a smile. She leaned across and kissed Alex. Their kisses had been different since she’d returned, more raw and desperate. But they were slowly returning to normal. Very slowly.

Alex broke the kiss to take a sip of her mulled wine. She’d never tried it before, so she was very curious as to what it tasted like. The warmth that it filled her with certainly wasn’t disappointing. And it wasn’t just from the warm beverage- the various spices also sent warmth through every part of her body.

Anne saw her grinning and giggled before taking a sip of her own wine. Traditionally, this was drunk in front of a fire with loved ones all around. But surely it wasn’t wrong to want to have time alone with someone who she hadn’t seen for two years or more.

“This is kind of a sombre mood,” said Alex, picking up on Anne’s silence. “We should do something fun. Something like drunken carolling.”

“Drunken carolling?” Anne echoed. “That isn’t a thing.”

“Oh yes it is,” said Alex with a laugh. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. We’ll get warm and happy and we’ll laugh a lot and confuse everyone walking past.”

“I suppose that it might be worth a try,” said Anne. “Okay, we’ll finish off this bottle and then get started on the other wine.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Alex. She took a longer drink of her wine, grinning at the taste. The warmth was lifting her spirits as much as the prospect of having fun.

Soon, the cellar was filled with the sound of carols being mercilessly butchered by two drunken carollers. The songs were always interrupted by giggling and occasionally kissing. Both girls felt the warmth of the mulled wine and love and happiness. This hadn’t seemed possible just a few weeks ago. But now, now… here they were. Singing. Drunk. Warm. Happy.


End file.
